Background
I am relatively new to the search for family history, only being involved
in it now for about a year-and-a-half. Because of this, don't expect to find
a huge repository of information here (...I'm sure that what I'm missing far
outweighs what I have). What exists on these pages will grow at time goes
along.
Vermont counties
My immediate family originates from Vermont: my mother is from the Addison
county-area of Vermont and my father is from the Franklin county-area.
Their families (in general) originated from Canada (mostly from Quebec
province), within a few generations. Our earliest known ancestors come from
France, England, Scotland and Ireland.
Laura DeForge found
some descriptions of the counties in books published in the mid-1800s.
Although the descriptions are not of the modern counties, they are still of
interest:
| Descriptions from an 1854 US Gazetteer |
|---|
| County |
Description |
|---|
| Franklin |
A county in the N. part of Vermont, has an area of about 630 square miles.
It is bounded on the W. by Lake Champlain, and is drained principally by
the Missisque and Lamoille rivers, which afford motive-power to numerous
grist and saw mills. The surface is uneven, and in the E. part hilly.
Marble of good quality is found at Swanton, and iron ore in other parts of
the county. The soil is fertile. Potatoes, oats, wool, and grass are the
staples. In 1850 this county produced 258,757 bushels of potatoes; 145,840
of oats; 78,619 tons of hay; 1,899,445 pounds of butter; 1,196,660 of
cheese, and 209,350 of wool. There were 4 woollen factories, 2 foundries, 3
grist mills, 20 saw mills, and 15 tanneries. It contained 47 churches, 2
newspaper offices, 7587 pupils attending public schools, and 279 attending
academies or other schools. Lake Champlain, on the western border of this
county, is navigable for vessels of 90 tons burthen. It is intersected by
the railroad connecting Burlington and Rouse's point. Organized in 1792.
Capital, St. Albans. Population, 28,586. |
| Addison |
A county in the W. part of Vermont, has an area of about 750 square miles.
It is bounded on the W. by Lake Champlain, and is drained principally by
Otter creek and its tributaries, which afford most valuable water-power.
The surface is level or slightly undulating near the lake, but in the E.
part rough and mountainous, and more adapted to grazing. The soil is
fertile, particularly along the lake shore. Indian corn, wool, oats, and
potatoes are the staples. There were raised in 1850, 318,421 bushels of
potatoes; 175,478 of corn; 211,385 of oats; 103,434 of wheat; 88,793 tons
of hay; 876,771 pounds of butter; 817,149 of cheese; 625,594 of wool; and
205,263 of maple sugar. The county contains 1 cotton and 5 woollen
factories, 7 forges, 1 paper mill, 433 saw-mills, besides various other
establishments. There are in this county quarries of white and variegated
marble, which are largely worked. Lake Champlain is navigable along its
west border, and sloops can ascend Otter creek 7 miles to Vergennes. The
railroad connecting Bellows Falls with Burlington passes through this
county. Organized in 1787, and named in honor of Joseph Addison, the
celebrated English writer. Capital, Middlebury. Population, 26,549. |
The Gazetteer of Vermont by John Hayward (1849) has descriptions
of all of the Vermont counties. Links to these descriptions can be found
on the
Vermont Counties page of Rootsweb.com.
My family lines
The basic family names I seek information on are (in alphabetic order):
| My Parent's Families
|
|---|
| Family Name |
Description |
My relationship to this family |
|---|
|
Cousino |
The Cousino family
settled in the Bristol Gap area of Vermont in the late 1800s. The family
name was originally Cousineau and the family
was based out of Quebec province. Although some of the
information on this family comes from my immediate and extended family,
a great deal of the information
on Cousineaus in general comes from the Ancestry World Tree at Ancestry.com. |
My mother is a Cousino. |
|
Lahue |
Our Lahue branch was,
originally, based in the Richford, VT, area and, later, in the Highgate, VT,
area. It was descended from a branch of the Lague family (my
great-great-grandfather was Peter Lahue (born Pierre Lague)). The data that
we have found in the last year has shown that most (if not all) of the Lahues
that came from Northern Vermont were also descended from different branches of
the Lague family. There are a great many variations on the names Lahue and
Lague (Lahu, Lahy, Layhew, Lagu, Lagueux, Sanscartier, etc). A great deal of
work still remains in fleshing out more of the family lines.
Just as a side note, another distinct Lahue family seems to have been descended from a
Lehew family that settled in Virginia (when it
was a colony of England). There doesn't seem to be any connection between
the two families (other than the name). |
My father is a Lahue. |
| My Grandparent's Families
|
|---|
| Family Name |
Description |
My relationship to this family |
|---|
|
Atkins |
This particular Atkins family
was located in Quebec province. The known head of the family (James Atkins)
is said to have come from Liverpool. Very little is
known about this family's history at this point. |
My father's mother was an Atkins. |
|
Provoncha |
This family
lived in Vermont and seems to have come from upstate New York.
The family name was originally Provencher and the
family originates from Canada. Quite a bit of information is known about
this family, thanks to its family historians. |
My mother's mother was a Provoncha. |
| My Great-grandparent's Families
|
|---|
| Family Name |
Description |
My relationship to this family |
|---|
|
Booska |
The Booska family (which was originally spelled as Bousquet)
came from Canada in the mid-1800s. A portion of them settled in the northeastern NY counties and another
group moved from there to the Bristol Gap in Vermont. Although
we have some of this family's lines, a lot remains missing.
There are multiple ties between the Booskas and the Cousinos. |
My mother's paternal grandmother was a Booska. |
|
Laplant |
This family lived in
northern Vermont and Quebec province and probably originates in Quebec. We
haven't been able to link this family into the greater
Laplante family yet. |
My father's paternal grandmother was a Laplant. |
|
Marceille (Marcill) |
Very little is known about this family (even the spelling of the name). My
ancestors came from Quebec but we know nothing else about them. |
My mother's maternal grandmother was a Marceille. |
|
Whitehead |
Some information is known about this family but we haven't linked it in with the general Whitehead family. Sabra Whitehead was born in Canada -- the family was based in Stukely, PQ, area. We are currently trying to pull in the various members of this family.
| My father's maternal grandmother. |
| My Known Great-great-grandparent's Families
|
|---|
| Family Name |
Description |
My relationship to this family |
|---|
|
Beland |
Very little is known about this family other than the came from Quebec. |
My mother's maternal grandfather's mother was a Beland. |
|
Duclos |
Very little is known about this family other than the came from Quebec. |
My mother's paternal grandfather's mother was a Duclos. |
|
McAllister |
This family
lived in northern Vermont and has its roots in Scotland. We currently have no
information on any of our ancestors in this tree except for a
great-great-grandmother, Lucy McAllister. |
My father's paternal grandmother's mother was a McAllister. |
|
Rainville |
This family comes from
Canada. A little bit of information exists about my ancestor path but a lot
more work is needed. |
My father's paternal grandfather's mother was a Rainville. |
|